Jungfernstieg

Perpendicular to The Alster Arcades, and lying directly at the Southern end of The Alster Lakes, is the Jungfernstieg.


The Jungfernstieg is actually part of a dam—it sits on ground used, in 1665, to dam The River Alster, thereby creating The Alster Lakes.

The postcard photograph below is from 1900.


The name “Jungfernstieg” derives from the fact that, in past centuries, families took walks here on Sundays and brought along their unmarried daughters (”Jungfern”) to show them off to prospective suitors.

The postcard photograph below is from 1905.


Today the Jungfernstieg is primarily a shopping promenade, perhaps the most elegant in Hamburg—a mixture of high-class boutiques, large and small, and fashionable cafes at which diners may sit and gaze out upon The Alster Lakes.

The photograph below shows the Jungfernstieg from a tourist steamer out on The Alster Lakes.